Pioneer Woman at Heart

One Flourishing, Frugal and Fun Family!

One family learning to live off the land, cut back on expenses, and to live a simpler and a more self-sufficient lifestyle.

Adopted Motto

"Eat it up,
Wear it out,
Make it do,
Or go without."
~A Pioneer Sampler, by Barbara Greenwood~

Thursday, March 17, 2016

First Herbs ~ New Additions to the Homestead ~ Tidbits

I am happy to say my herb garden is springing to life again.  I chopped my first chives of this year.  Boy was it a good feeling.  My kids thought I was nuts when they saw me smelling them while walking in the house.


They went into the butter I made for the steaks yesterday, and I chopped more for eggs.  It really is a good feeling. 

I also added a tab divider in my recipe box.  I reads "butters."

Guess what I brought home? 




Six new Buff Orpingtons!  Our state has a law - minimum purchase of chicks must be six.  It's a head shaker law.  Some coops only hold two or four hens.  I think it's to prevent people from buying Easter chicks for pets.  Not sure.  I'm already trying to re-home three of them.  If not, I'll need a bigger coop, ha ha!  We lost a few over the years.

We've never had this breed before, so we are excited. I am hoping Sparta will accept them into his brood just as he has the others.

Guess what?  I'll be clearing out the goat stalls soon.  More on that later.

The puppies got their first brushing, and oh boy, it was funny.  King thought it was a toy and kept trying to swing his head around to grab it with his teeth.  Zuri thought it was torture.  She is the one to chew up items around here, so we often put the item in front of her and ask her "what did you do?"  She must have thought she was in trouble when  attempted to brush her.  I put the brush in front of her to smell.  She ran, but eventually let me brush her.  However, while brushing her, King continued to try and eat the brush.  Just a pretty funny moment.

Our 16 year-old continues to run a fever. I'm wondering if she had something else going on like our youngest daughter did.  She is completely drained.  The cough, congestion, having to wipe her nose - it all keeps her up at night.  She is doing better, but its slow going.  I've been encouraging her to drink more hot herbal teas, and that has helped along with homemade ginger-ale.  In fact, she said she felt that the ginger-ale helped her throat, and stomach the most.

The wind was wicked here yesterday, and just about lifted me off my feet.  They say the wind will be bad today too, but it's a good thing.  It's great for drying things out.  However, we may get rain again tonight. 

4 comments:

Mama Pea said...

Sounds as though your little homestead is being (re)populated with livestock!

Best wishes for your daughter's continued recovery. Sounds like she's gaining on ridding the sickness from her little, beat-up body. She's going to have to be vigilant about not over-doing it once she's on her feet again. (Kids don't get that, do they? Nor do some of us adults!)

Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Mama Pea, it feels so normal to have chicks peeping in the house again. I heard there is a nasty bacterial infection going around, so I am taking precautions for myself, and keeping germs at bay here too. I'm so glad we have access to organic ginger root. It's really helped, along with the teas.

RB said...

It's been very warm here the last few days, but bingo - it's suppose to be in the 50s and 60s over the weekend. Such is weather in NC. No wonder we often get sick.
Our two hens are Orphingtons, but they're lavenderish rather than beige.
Prayers for your daughter, and that everyone has a great and safe weekend.
God bless.
RB
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Pioneer Woman at Heart said...

Thank you RB